Last night was the end of our 10 weeks working hard to raise money for the LLS Woman of the Year campaign for Cassandra Lazenby. It was a lot of work, it took a lot of time, we made a lot of great friends, raised money and I couldn’t be more proud to join this amazing group of individuals.

However, last night was a record breaking night that made the room give a standing ovation SEVERAL times. This campaign raised $1,237,102 in just 10 weeks! It was a national record! Tina Kahlig won Woman of the Year by raising $156,000!

But it was Daniel Edelman a 16 year old leukemia survivor who not only inspired me, but brought tears to my eyes. He too broke a national record by raising over $400,000! A 16 year old boy did this. Can you believe it?! Yes he had an amazing campaign team and support system, but how amazing is it to hear something like this?!

This is exactly why I love helping charity. Being in a room with people who care, meeting others who have the same giving heart, making friends and learning how to continue to help others is a feeling unlike any other.

Thank you Cassandra for letting me be a part of this.

Click here for video of the event.  And here too. 

This month I had the pleasure of writing an article for Progressions. “The Toe Tapper, the Pen Clicker and the Gum Smacker – Office Meeting Etiquette for Everyone” is available here.

This semester I didn’t want to be a PRSSA President who only told members about benefits. Great leaders are those who lead by example. I’m happy to have accomplished that with my Progressions article.

Feel free to share the article on Twitter and Facebook like the 27 other people who have already done so. And no I’m not counting. Haha!

Yesterday I graduated with my second degree. After 4 more years of school, I now have my Bachelors Degree in Communication Studies from UTSA. And of course that moment wouldn’t be complete without having a mini heart attack. Because of an asterisk. Yep an asterisk.

While sitting in the Alamodome, I picked up the graduation program and looked through it, found my name and then freaked out. There was an asterisk next to my name, stating I would fulfill the requirements to graduate in August. Um, August? Why August? Why not right now? What is going on here? Who do I need to yell at? SOMEONE GET ME A DOCTOR I’M HAVING A HEART ATTACK!

Most people during their graduation ceremony probably weren’t doing what I was. My mind was going 300 miles an hour thinking of every possible reason this could happen. Is it because I missed the diploma application deadline to send me my diploma right after graduation? I’m busy, it slipped my mind and even if I receive my diploma in December it won’t kill me. Was that the reason for the asterisk?

And now … now I finally have confirmation. I have graduated. I did fulfill all the requirements. And apparently the asterisk is my fault, because I checked the wrong box on my graduation application. A simple slip of hand kept me up last night and gave me 5 more gray hairs (maybe more). Checking the wrong box on a paper made yesterday not so perfect. But at the end of the day I’m done. I’m finally done. No more school, I’m ready to take on a job in an industry I know I’m meant to be a part of. Bring on the next chapter of my life.

Pesto Chicken Salad – Vine video

Ingredients: cooked chicken, pesto, mayo, greek yogurt, celery

Directions: Cook chicken and season with salt and pepper only. In a mixing bowl add 1/2 cup of pesto, 1/4 cup of mayo, 1/2 cup of greek yogurt and 1 cup of celery. Once you add 3 cups of the diced cooked chicken to the mixing bowl, refrigerate for an hour.

And that’s all folks!

You can also add to the recipe as well. Next time I want to try adding diced almonds and maybe some roma tomatoes.

This week the NRA/IRA sent me an e-mail about a bill that would be voted on in the State Senate. Since the bill mattered to me and dealt with rights I have and want to keep, I decided to write my State Senator. And guess what?! He wrote me back and said he voted for the bill!

I know you may not believe it, but I believe that writing politicians is important. No one does it anymore and I don’t understand why. People feel like their vote doesn’t count and complaining on Facebook about policy will change America. It doesn’t.  If you elect someone into office, or maybe you didn’t, why would you NOT voice your opinion to them if they are supposed to be the voice of the people?

I hope I am an example to others and they will follow suit. Maybe the next time you feel strongly about something you too will write your state senator, or congress, or the President. I’m going to sleep better tonight knowing maybe, just maybe, my voice helped protect my rights as an American. And mark my words: one day I will run for office.

Is it true? Did I really go away in order to accomplish everything I set out to do? And then it started to hit me. He’s right.

I’ve given up my personal life and time for school, PRSSA, Guadalupe Home, LLS and planning a wedding. I honestly haven’t spent time with my friends in … well I don’t remember. Maybe 2 months ago? My matron of honor moved into a new house and I haven’t even had a chance to see it yet. I used to have time to go to the gym every day after school and I don’t remember the last time that happened. What about a weekend where I don’t do anything? Maybe last summer?

Last week we went to Oklahoma for a funeral and I was happy to meet his family, but I also stressed about being away. The entire drive to and from I was on an iPad typing away, taking notes and on my phone. Even when I’m forced to take some personal time the responsibilites don’t go away.

My strength and my weakness is that I always have to be doing something. I feel like ever since I moved to New York that upbeat, fast paced, hard working energy entered my body and never left. I don’t like to regret anything in life. Yes, I’ve started to realize that I’m doing too much. But I also know that it’s all for a reason. In less than 2 weeks I will turn 29 and graduate from UTSA. And all the days after that will be a chain reaction leading up to my wedding and a new job.

Maybe I have gone away for a little while. But my family and friends know it’s all for a reason. Success isn’t magic it comes from hard work. And I’m fine with a little bit of sacrifice if it means I have a better future.

But the craziness continues when 2 days later I finally graduate from UTSA. And then 3 weeks after that I get married. Followed by an active search for a career in television.

As the days get closer and all these big events in my life creep up on me it really makes me evaluate my life. And I know I’m not the only one. I’ve had a lot of family members lately tell me they are proud of me and the woman I have become.

When I think about my past sometimes I smile, sometimes I cringe and sometimes I simply exhale deeply and think. I don’t regret any of the decisions I made. Living in LA and NY changed my life and shaped me as a person. Moving back to Texas was once something I was ashamed of, but now I realize it was where I needed to be. Becoming Miss Latina World 08-09 was an opportunity for me in various ways. Going back to school was never something I thought I’d do, but I did and I’m happy I forced myself to do it.

Age is just a number. Life experiences don’t happen on a timeline. I’m thankful for that.

This past weekend I attended the PRSSA National Assembly in Albuquerque, NM. It was certainly an amazing trip, I learned a lot about PRSSA and how to better our Chapter, I made some great friends and loved every minute.

If you’re curious what other PRSSA delegates and non-delegates learned at the PRSSA National Assembly here’s the article in Progressions listing a few comments. I’m happy to be listed and also shown in the picture.

http://progressions.prssa.org/index.php/2013/04/10/the-prssa-2013-national-assembly-taught-me/

Oh and don’t worry I will DEFINITELY be writing about this event when I have more spare time.

If you are a social media lover, fond of sharing quality information or interested in reading my piece, please click the following link. Maybe you too can benefit from his words of wisdom!

http://prsanantonio.blogspot.com/2013/03/creating-content-worth-sharing.html

And finally I must thank PRSA for sharing my blog with others. I’m beginning to thoroughly enjoy writing and this certainly expands my portfolio!

Thanks to With Style And Grace, I learned that making homemade chicken nachos isn’t very difficult. And making them gluten free and delicious is even easier! If you thought the nachos at Taco Cabana were good … I promise you’ll never want to eat them again after you make these and see how easy and MUCH tastier they can be. Not to mention they don’t have all the fat and grease you’ll get when you order from a fast food restaurant.

INGREDIENTS:

Corn tortilla chips – (I used the flat circle Tostitos)

Canned refried beans – (I’m a huge fan of La Sierra)

Chicken – (I bought a little over 1 lb of chicken breast)

Mexican Cheese blend – (Depending on how much cheese you like, you can use 2 cups or 4 cups)

TOPPINGS:

Avocado, sour cream, onion, tomatoes, Picante sauce, whatever your heart desires!

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray your cooking pan with some Pam. I recommend using a small cookie sheet, because my glass baking dish was too small and I had too many layers of nachos.

Add a layer of your chips, then add small spoon fulls of refried beans (I heated them up a little first to make it easier to spread and work with), then add your chicken pieces (cut them to whatever size you prefer and do not use more than salt and pepper to season) and then sprinkle cheese. When you’re done you’ll do the same thing with the next layer.

With the second layer you will need to add extra chips, because the ingredients will get heavy on the chips and need that extra layer for support. Don’t do more than 2 layers. If you need to use an extra cookie sheet do so, but don’t stack the nachos like a mountain.

Bake for 10-15 minutes. You know they’re done when the cheese has melted.

I served mine hot with the toppings on the table for everyone to use at their own discretion. Some people like to bake the nachos with the onion and tomato, but that’s up to you.

ENJOY!